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News from ALPA International |
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November 27, 2012 |
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ALPA Commends President Obama on EU ETS Action |
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 The
Air Line Pilots
Association, Int’l
and other airline
industry stakeholders
today applauded
President Barack Obama’s
signing of the EU
Emissions Trading Scheme
Prohibition Act,
legislation that
authorizes the U.S.
Secretary of
Transportation to
prohibit U.S. airlines
from participating in
the European Union’s
emissions trading scheme
(EU ETS).“By signing
this bill into law,
President Obama has
acted to protect our
national sovereignty,
U.S. airlines, and
American jobs,” said
ALPA president Capt. Lee
Moak. “We want to thank
President Obama and
members of
Congress—particularly
Sens. Claire McCaskill
(D-MO) and John Thune
(R-SD)—for taking a
stand against this
illegal tax, whose
proceeds were never even
intended to address
aircraft greenhouse gas
emissions or further
environmental
protections.”
ALPA launched a
full-scale campaign
complete with a Call to
Action, Congressional
testimony, press
releases, and Capitol
Hill visits by pilot
Legislative Affairs
representatives. Earlier
this month, the EU
postponed the ETS to
allow for the triennial
meeting of the
International Civil
Aviation Organization (ICAO)
to continue its ongoing
effort to develop and
vote on a global
sectorial approach to
decrease commercial
aircraft emissions.
“ICAO is the most
appropriate venue to
address the issue of
global aircraft
emissions standards,”
said Capt. Moak. “A
single, international
policy should be
determined to safeguard
against regional efforts
to generate new sources
of income.”
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Pilots: First Air Should Be Honest about Impact of Job Cuts |
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Contrary to management’s
public statements, First
Air’s plan to lay off
more than 10 percent of
its flight crews could
have an extensive
negative impact on the
airline’s operations.
The airline is being
disingenuous when it
states that flight crew
member layoffs and the
closure of First Air’s
northernmost jet base
will not affect other
aircraft types, said FAB
MEC chair F/O Devin
Lyall.
“These layoffs are a
major blow to the pilot
group and will have a
ripple effect throughout
the entire system. Some
pilots may opt to
displace more junior
pilots, which could
require even more pilots
to transition to
different aircraft types
and undergo lengthy,
expensive retraining. It
can’t help but create
some disruptions,” Lyall
said.
Read more.
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Is There a Pilot Shortage or Not? |
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The following is
reprinted with
permission from Holly
Hegeman’s PlaneBusiness
Banter, November 21,
2012, Vol. 16, Issue 43:
Over the last several
weeks, the issue of
whether the airline
industry faces a severe
pilot shortage has
generated a great deal
of discussion in various
media outlets. One
recent article in the
Wall Street Journal
in particular generated
a high number of email
comments to us here at
PlaneBusiness. That
article also generated a
lot of “me too” stories
at other media outlets.
So is there a
“catastrophic” pilot
shortage about to
descend upon the
industry?
According to Kit
Darby, of Kit Darby
Aviation Consultants,
more than half of
current U.S. airline
pilots are over 50.
Darby’s firm calculates
that all U.S. airlines,
including cargo, charter
and regional carriers,
together employ nearly
96,000 pilots, and will
need to find more than
65,000 over the next
eight years.
Read more.
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ALPA IT Conference Examines New Communications Tools |
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 ALPA
is holding its 7th
annual IT Conference at
the new conference
facilities in its
Herndon, Va., office.
The two-day event
focused on MEC
collaboration and the
many communication tools
available.
More than 20 pilots
participated from 12
different MECs, in
addition to professional
staff from the
Association’s IT and
Communications
departments.
The conference offers
presentations on MEC
tools, the new
SharePoint system, and
e-mail management, plus
nine individual work
sessions covering
specific web,
communications, and
application topics. In
addition, a Microsoft
representative is
providing a one-hour
presentation on Windows
8 and Office 2013
tomorrow.
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Pilots in Atlanta Area Needed for Georgia Tech Study |
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 The
School of Aerospace
Engineering at Georgia
Tech is seeking
glass-qualified airline
pilots to participate in
simulator-based research
into aviation safety
with a focus on
supporting the pilot in
busy air traffic
environments. The
simulator is simple,
based on desktop
computers, and any
current glass-cockpit
Part 121 or Part 135
pilot is welcome.The
research is being
conducted at Georgia
Tech in Atlanta, and
lasts four hours plus
breaks. Participants
will each receive a $200
stipend in addition to
reimbursement for
on-campus parking. Any
transportation and
lodging costs are the
responsibility of the
pilot volunteer, and
sessions are currently
being scheduled for
dates starting November
18 and running through
early December.
If you want to
participate or would
like more information,
please contact Justin
Mullins at
jmullins6@gatech.edu
or (919) 384-5849.
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In the Latest Air Line Pilot |
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 Check out the second
annual “swimsuit” issue,
with photos submitted by
ALPA members. Learn
about Emirates Airline’s
growing hold on the
international air cargo
industry. Find out about
the recurrence of
cockpit laser
illuminations and read
about what you can do to
protect your eyes. See
the fleet makeup of ALPA-member
airlines. Plus, hear
about life after the
cockpit.All of this
information and more can
be found in the
December
2012 issue of Air
Line Pilot magazine.
Remember that Air
Line Pilot can be
accessed from the
members-only portion of
the ALPA website at
www.alpa.org.
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Get the Scoop! Read “ALPA Daily” |
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 The
aviation industry is changing faster than ever before. The new
“ALPA Daily”
feature at www.alpa.org will keep you informed
of the latest industry developments and analysis from around the globe. Check it
out each day to stay up-to-date on the news that affects pilots and the piloting
profession.
ALPA members can sign up to receive ALPA Daily in their e-mail:
•
Visit
this link.
• Log in with your ALPA member number and password.
• Select “E-mail Distribution Lists.”
• Check the box for “ALPA Daily.”
• Submit your request.
According to the Washington Post, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) is no longer
blocking the nomination of Michael Huerta to be Federal Aviation Administration
administrator.
Read more.
The St. Louis Business Journal reports that Boeing will move forward on a new
stretched version of its fuel-efficient 787 Dreamliner, but said more work is
needed before it can determine an official launch.
Read more.
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An FAA-funded survey is
being conducted under
the Airport Cooperative
Research Program’s
Guidebook for Energy
Facilities’
Compatibility with
Airports and Airspace
Project #02-38. The
purpose of the survey is
to obtain empirical
information from pilots
on the sources of solar
glare and their effects.
The survey should
take only five minutes
to complete, and your
answers are
confidential.
Take the survey.
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On Nov. 29, 1947, the ALPA Credit Union was chartered as a nonprofit
organization. ALPA President Behncke became the first depositor when the credit
union opened for business in February 1948. To learn more about today’s ALPA
Federal Credit Union, go to www.alpafcu.org. Return to top
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Feedback & E-mail Address Changes |
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| Questions or comments on this FastRead? Give us your feedback at
communications@alpa.org. If you have moved or changed your ISP or e-mail
address, please update your ALPA records. If you don’t, you
will no longer receive the ALPA FastRead and other e-mail bulletins and notices,
and once your postal forwarding order expires, you’ll no longer receive the
magazine and other ALPA mail. You can do it yourself by going to
www.alpa.org and logging
in. Go to “My ALPA” in the menu at the top of the page, and from there, you’ll be
instructed how to make the necessary changes. If you don’t have access to the
members-only section of
www.alpa.org, you can
e-mail your requests by sending them to
membership@alpa.org. Be sure to include your member number or enough other
information so that we can identify you in the membership database, and tell us
what information needs to be updated. Please note that it is not sufficient
just to notify your LEC or MEC of these changes—you should register them with
the ALPA Membership Department in Herndon. Can’t remember your member number
or how to log in? Need information about your ALPA insurance programs? These and
other questions about ALPA services can be answered by contacting
membership@alpa.org. Return to top
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Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l
1625 Massachusetts Avenue NW
| Washington, DC 20036 | 703-689-2270 |
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